The Scandal in Konoha
by Inuyashahiei
Summary: It's ten years after Sasuke returns to the village and everything returns to pretty much normal, until Konoha's resident troublemaker finds out something to rock his and his daughter's world.
1. Chapter 1

The Scandal in Konoha

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Important A/N Please read!!! I've decided on revising before posting chapter nine. I'm going to be adding some more things and I'm sorry to those readers who have been waiting very patiently for the next chapter.

Summary: AU! Ten years after Sasuke returns to Konoha, trouble erupts within Konoha's ninja ranks when Uzumaki Naruto finds his wife in a compromising position with their former teammate. What will this mean for Naruto and his daughter?

Pairing: Naruto/Harem

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Chapter One

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Naruto sighed softly as he pulled on his ninja sandals, staring out at the dark rain splattered window, which was rather unusual since it had been raining since the day before. The blond got off his side of the bed and walked out the door, wanting to spar with his best friend, despite the wet conditions.

"Hey Hinata!" The blond greeted cheerfully when he saw the pale eyed woman. "Thanks for babysitting again!"

Hinata smiled. Over the past ten years Hinata was able to get over her crush on Naruto and, even though it took some time, no longer fainted or stuttered whenever Naruto looked in her direction. "Oh it's no problem." She said just as cheerfully. "I love Hiromi, you know that."

"And she loves you too." Naruto responded although that could be because Hinata was like her overindulgent aunt, getting whatever her little heart desired. '_She's going to be so spoiled when she's older._' He thought with a slight wince and looked around the living room for his little hellion.

"Daddy! Hi Daddy!" A cute little baby-ish voice called out from behind Hinata's legs. A little blond head appeared from where she was hiding, clutching at Hinata's pant legs, grinning widely up at Naruto.

"Morning Princess." Naruto knelt down and scooped up his daughter in a hug. At a little over fourteen months, Hiromi had wavy golden blond hair that barely touched her shoulders, currently in pigtails, aquamarine eyes, and a perfect blend of both her parents features. "What is my little Princess going to do with Auntie Hinata today?"

Hiromi smiled happily, showing little white teeth, "We're going to the park!" She exclaimed.

"It's raining today love." Hinata pointed out in a gentle voice. "We'll go tomorrow, okay?"

Hiromi swung herself toward the window and pouted when she heard the steady 'drip drip' sounds that the rain was making. "But I wanted to go today." She whined tears welling up in her eyes.

"We can go tomorrow when the rain has stopped. Mommy wouldn't be very happy if you got sick." Naruto said kissing his daughter's head, smelling the sweet scent of lilac in her hair. "If you got sick then you wouldn't be able to go to the park at all and you wouldn't like that would you?"

"No." Her little voice was muffled because she had buried her head into her daddy's shirt, undoubtedly wiping away the tears and snot. "I like the park."

"I know you do, Princess. I'm sure there will be things for you to do with Auntie Hinata today."

Hiromi nodded and allowed herself to be transferred into the Hyuuga Heiress' arms.

Naruto leaned in and kissed Hiromi's chubby cheek. "I'll be back in a little while." He told Hinata. "Sasuke promised me a spar after he flaked out on me for most of the last week."

"In the rain Naruto?" Hinata asked in concern. "I don't think Sakura would be very happy with you if you got sick just for a spar with Sasuke." She said Sasuke's name with some distain. "Just tell him you'll spar tomorrow."

Hinata and the rest of the Rookie 9, including her cousin Neji and his teammates Lee and Tenten, didn't approve of the last of the Uchiha and didn't understand why both Naruto and Sakura went out of their ways to make him feel included, when the rest of their friends couldn't care less.

She shook her head. "Fine but don't come to me when you get sick."

His face split into a smile and he surprised her when he swept her into a hug. He quickly let her go, inwardly laughing at the stunned look on her face, and practically ran for the door. "Be back in a little while!" He called out as the door swung shut.

He turned and strolled down the gravel pathway that led to the front gate to the estate and the rest of the city beyond. While he walked toward the Uchiha family compound, he wondered where Sakura was at the moment. It wasn't like her to leave without saying bye to him in the mornings before she went anywhere.

'_She's probably at Ino's_.' He thought navigating through the maze of roads that made up the majority of the Village Hidden in the Leaves with expert ease. Despite the fact that it was drizzling slightly at the moment, there was quite a few civilians around, probably heading to the shopping district before it got too busy.

Twenty minutes later Naruto calmly walked up to the gate that separated the compound from the rest of Konoha and pushed it open, it squeaked shrilly as it swung open, allowing the blond to walk into the deserted area.

"Sasuke!" He bellowed as he walked up to the main house. "Get out of bed you lazy bastard! You owe me a spar! Don't make me come in there and drag you out!"

Naruto waited ten seconds at most for the darker man to appear before easing himself into the house, smirking foxily. "Guess you want do this the hard way." Naruto walked to where he knew where Sasuke's bedroom was located and noticed the noise dampening seal that was upon the door and grasped the door handle, sliding it open, hoping he could embarrass the normally unruffled Uchiha.

Almost at once Naruto's ears were assaulted by the noise of deep grunting and soft girly moans. Naruto froze when he saw locks of pink hair on the pillows suddenly Sasuke shifted, allowing Naruto a perfect view of his wife, naked and being fucked by a man who wasn't her husband. Naruto was furious, he clenched his fists, crushing the metal handle that he was still holding.

Inside him, Kyuubi shifted in his cage, his red eyes glaring at the metal bars and baring his teeth, a fearsome growl tearing through them. "**Kill them…All their doing is laughing at you…At us…Kill them now and be done with it.**" He snarled his tails lashing out around him as he sensed his jailer's anger slowly start to escalate.

"_Shut your furry face, I will not leave my daughter without her mother._" Naruto's body shook with the effort of keeping the red chakra suppressed, he hated it because Kyuubi's chakra responded whenever he got very angry and it was rather painful to transform into the fox with it.

Kyuubi's loud booming laughter made Naruto inwardly growl at him. It was true, he didn't want Hiromi to grow up without her mommy.

"**Just do it. Otherwise the kit will eventually find out what a whore her mother is.**" The fox snapped his jaws sinisterly.

"_Don't call Sakura a whore._" Naruto snapped at Kyuubi feeling the need to protect the pick haired woman from the fox even though he knew Kyuubi's words were true.

"**I bet the slut has been spreading her legs for the Uchiha long before you two ever thought about marriage or having kits. Why the fuck do you think she was so adamant with getting married here of all places?**"

Naruto bristled at the things Kyuubi was implying and snarled aloud, his eyes tinted red. The noise carried over to the couple on the bed and two heads jerked to face the irate Naruto. Sakura's flushed face paled drastically as did Sasuke's when he realized just who was standing there.

"Naruto." Sakura stuttered looking utterly terrified, pulling a sheet over her to cover her body.

Naruto's red eyes snapped to her green ones and she shivered at the intensity of his anger in his eyes. "Why would you do this Sakura?" Naruto asked roughly, Kyuubi's chakra was obviously influencing him in a few ways. "You have a fourteen month old daughter waiting for you at home. Did you really want us out of your life this badly?"

"No. I love both of you." Sakura said. "I don't want to hurt either of you."

Naruto glared at her. "If you loved us like you say you do, you would have never pulled this shit!" He growled turning away from his soon to be ex-wife. "Don't bother coming home tonight. I refuse to let you hurt my daughter anymore than you already have."

A hurt look blossomed over Sakura's face when Naruto said 'my' daughter instead of 'our'. "But she is my daughter too." She protested.

"That doesn't mean I'll allow you onto my property after this. I'll pay for a Genin team to move all your stuff over here." And with that said, he walked away from his ex-best friend and wife, trying to ignore the hurt that the betrayal was causing.

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AN: Was this one better than the original? Review and tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

A Scandal in Konoha

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Chapter Two

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Naruto walked stiffly away from the Uchiha compound, his mind still trying to wrap around the scene he had just witnessed, trying very hard to ignore the twisted whispers from Kyuubi. His legs carried him toward the other end of town far away from the Uchiha compound.

Naruto passed the park and his heart clenched painfully in his chest when he heard the happy children's laughter as they played, each of them carefree, without a single problem in their world. It made Naruto a little angry that everyone else could be so happy while he was so miserable. But, of course, that was how it always was ever since he had been a child…

"**So get revenge…**" Kyuubi's voice boomed deeply inside his head. "**Use my power and kill them all.**"

"_I'm not going to kill anyone._" Naruto replied dully. "_You need to get that into your furry little skull and shut up about it._"

"**You know you want to, brat. I know you do too. Or if you don't want to do it yourself you can just release this damned seal and I'll do it for you.**" Kyuubi added the last bit as an afterthought a second later.

Naruto shuffled blindly past Yamanaka Flower Shop, he was too busy with arguing with his prisoner to notice the look that Ino and her mother sent him when they saw him pass.

"_Like hell, fox. I'd sooner commit suicide than release you and this is saying something._"

"Oh Naruto!" A soft but surprised voice called somewhere to his left.

"Dada!" Another voice cried out happily a second later.

Naruto frowned and turned, surprise etched onto his face as he saw Hinata and a small girl with blond hair, done up in short pigtails and shiny pink ribbons, and blue-green eyes.

"What are you two up to?" Naruto asked walking up to the pair, skillfully avoiding the Hyuuga heiress's eyes.

"We going to the pak dada!" Hiromi chirped cheerfully.

"Not right now, sweetie. Daddy has things to do." Naruto said carefully.

Hiromi's face fell and her lower lip trembled; her eyes became glossy as tears began to fall. The toddler let out a fairly loud wail, instantly making Naruto regret his slightly callous words and he scooped Hiromi out of Hinata's arms and gently hugged her.

"Daddy's sorry, sweetie. Shhh…don't cry." Naruto soothed. "Daddy will go to the park with you and Hinata. Please just don't cry anymore."

"Weally?" Hiromi asked through her sobbing.

"Really." Naruto smiled down at the child, despite his current mood.

"Yay!" Hiromi shouted fisting her small, sticky hands into Naruto's shirt. "Let's go Dada!"

Naruto walked back toward the park, his mood starting to darken once again. He knew that his daughter wouldn't be very happy with what he was planning on doing.

"**Tsunade's going to hate you too. You realize this right?**" Kyuubi asked chuckling lightly.

"_Fuck you Fox!_"

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"Naruto." Sakura whispered sorrowfully staring at the place the whiskered blond had been standing. "Oh god, what have I done? He's going to take Hiromi."

"Of course Naruto's going to take your daughter, the Hokage adores the very ground he walks on." Sasuke said zipping up his pants in a rush; he wore the same horrified look on his face that Sakura imagined was on her own face. "She would give him the world if she could. So she's going to give custody to Naruto. We both know she loves him like a little brother or a son"

Sakura let out a small wail of despair; she wrapped a sheet tightly around her naked body sliding out of the large bed, letting the sheet pool itself around her feet. "We have to go and explain this to him."

Sasuke sighed and threw her clothes on his bed. "What and risk having him kill us?"

Sakura sank back onto the bed and put her head in her hands, tears welling up in her eyes. "Yeah I guess your right."

"SAKURA! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" A voice roared causing the lovers to jump.

"You know, I don't think we'll have to worry about Naruto killing us anymore," Sakura murmured her head snapping up and she stared wide eyed at the door, a fearful look appearing on her pretty face. "I think Ino will take care of that for him."

"Damn right I will!" Ino pushed open the sliding door with such force that it broke as the blond glowered at Sakura angrily. "You don't deserve to have Naruto. He loved you, Sakura and you threw it all away just because of a stupid childhood crush."

"I know." Sakura stared at a spot behind Sasuke's head.

"Then why the fuck did you do it!" Ino finally shouted. "Answer me that, Sakura. If you knew he loved you why did you do something so fucking stupid?"

"I…I don't know." Sakura stuttered. She was stunned that Ino was swearing she normally left that kind of thing to Kiba.

"You can't give me a reason because you don't really give a rat's ass about Naruto! You've never loved him! You were probably just using him!" Ino accused.

"How dare you say that to me! I love my husband more than anything!" Sakura found herself screaming angrily. "Like you really care about Naruto, you hated him just as much as the rest of us."

"Says the girl who cheated on him with his best fucking friend," Ino glared furiously at the pink haired female. "If I had known that you would have turned out this way, I would have never befriended you when we were children."

Sakura gaped momentarily quieted by the blond's admission. "You don't mean that Ino."

"Yes I do!" Ino turned her back on the still naked Sakura. "Don't bother talking to me anymore. I don't wish to associate with cheaters. Goodbye Sakura."

Ino marched out of the room, sneering at Sasuke hatefully when she passed him in the hallway. Sasuke stared stonily at her until she was out of sight and walked back into his bedroom, surprised when he saw Sakura curled up on his bed, her body shaking with the force of her sobs.

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A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers who reviewed the first chapter. I wasn't sure if anyone would like or even read it but I was wrong. Thanks also to my best friend, Sonny, for beta-ing this chapter because without her I don't think this chapter would be as good. So thank you, you are fucking amazing and I am so lucky to be friends with you. Love ya! Anyways please enjoy this chapter and I'll get the third written out as soon as I can.


	3. Chapter 3

The Scandal in Konoha

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Chapter Three

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Sasuke walked into the room and put his arms around his distraught lover's thin frame and, when she didn't pull away from his touch, pulled her off the bed and into his arms. Sakura uncurled herself slightly and buried her head into Sasuke's firm body and cried, her hands clenching Sasuke's shirt, wrinkling the soft material in the process.

"How could I have been so stupid?" Sakura whispered hoarsely through her tears.

"We've all made mistakes before but we also have another thing to worry about." Sasuke whispered brushing a few fingers across Sakura's belly, where a barely visible bump had begun forming. "There's going to be hell to pay when it's found out that you're pregnant again and the baby isn't Naruto's."

Sakura sucked in a breath. "Shit." She cursed. She hadn't thought of the consequences of getting pregnant by another man but she knew it would cause an uproar. "We're so screwed."

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"**You're so screwed boy.**" Kyuubi growled.

The loudmouth blond scowled inwardly. "_Didn't I tell you to shut the hell up?_" He snapped at the fox.

Kyuubi laughed, "**And when have I ever listened to you?**"

This was true, Naruto thought. Kyuubi never had really listened to him, even when they were in battle. "_Why do you say I'm screwed?_" He said deciding to humor the demon.

"**You will be when you dump your daughter on the Hokage then leave the fucking village.**"

"_I'm not 'dumping' Hiromi on the old hag as you put it._" Naruto protested. "_I'm simply leaving Hiromi there so she and Tsunade can bond some more._"

"**In short, you're abandoning her.**"

Naruto frowned at the disappointed tone Kyuubi used. "_I am not abandoning her._"

"**Hiromi will think so. And since her slut of a mother is pretty much out of the picture, you're all that little girl has.**"

Naruto squirmed guiltily, catching the attention of Hinata.

The Hyuuga heiress walked over to the blond man and gently touched his shoulder. "Are you alright Naruto?"

Naruto jumped at the touch and he met Hinata's lavender eyes for a moment before looking away at Hiromi, the little girl was cheerfully playing in the sand. Shaking his head lightly, he heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm okay Hinata.."

"Are you certain?" Hinata pressed with a soft voice. "You seem pretty upset." Her lavender eyes watching as Naruto's expression tightened into a deep frown and his eyes darkened to a stormy blue. She pulled her hand away from his shoulder before coming to a conclusion that whatever made him upset, probably had to do with Sakura. Naruto never did come to her when it came to Sakura. Feeling courageous, she pressed on once more. "Is there something wrong with Sakura?"

Naruto's eyes remained locked on the playground, his expression darkening the more he thought of it. An innocent mother noticed his dark look and immediately began to usher her three young children out of the playground.

"**Would this be a bad time to mention the fact that Sakura is pregnant with the Uchiha's heir?**" Kyuubi cackled in the back of Naruto's mind.

Naruto had jumped up to his feet, shouting loudly. "WHAT?!"

Hinata jumped from the outburst, along with all the other children and parents in or around the playground. Her gaze turned to Hiromi as the young girl began to tear up, her eyes watery and her face turning a light pink. Hinata ran over to the child quickly, picking her up in her arms to cradle and comfort her. Turning back to Naruto, she saw his expression was that of shame from yelling out the way he had and scaring his child.

"Dada..." Hiromi cried, rubbing her tiny, pudgy fists against her face to rid herself of her tears. Begins rubbing her face into Hinata's shoulder, smearing snot and tears against the girl's sweater, as she hiccupped lightly.

Naruto went into 'daddy mode' almost immediately as he rushed over to his daughter, pulling her from Hinata's arms and against his chest. He couldn't care less about the snot and tears as he rocked her to and fro gently in his arms. "I'm so sorry sweetie. Daddy didn't mean to frighten you like that."

Hinata watched the entire exchange with a passive expression.

"Hinata! Come here!" Ino called from the playground entrance, waving her arm as she motioned for the girl to come over.

Hinata turned, seeing Ino and blinking at the less-than-happy expression on the blonde girl's face. Running over to the girl, her own worry surfaced. "Ino? What's wrong?" Her voice a soft whisper as she asked, feeling as if she might regret asking. She squeaked when Ino grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her away from Naruto and his daughter. "Ino! What is it?"

"Naruto caught Sakura and Sasuke…" Ino whispered after looking around to make sure no one was around to hear them.

Understanding suddenly dawned in the Hyuuga's eyes. "About time…" She muttered, looking off to the side. "How do you know?... You know, that he knows."

"I saw him walking away from Sasuke's house… he looked so… so… heartbroken and upset..." Ino's gazed turned downward, her eyes not focused on Naruto as he moved closer to the two females with his daughter in tow.

"He loved, possibly still loves, her. They were married for 6 years…"

"Actually Hinata, it's been five and a half years. I dated her three years prior to our wedding though." Naruto said from behind Ino.

Both the girls turned towards him, startled. Their eyes filled with guilt as they watched him. Ino spoke first.

"I'm so sorry Naruto…"

Naruto shook his head, holding up his hand to stop Ino and Hinata before they began with apologies galore. "Don't apologize to me. It isn't your fault she was cheating on me to begin with, it's not like you told her to." His expression turned sad as he lowered his hand and looked at his precious little angel. "I'm going to go and take Hiromi home for a nap."

Hiromi gave a small whine of protest, despite not doing anything else, like she always did whenever the word 'nap' was mentioned around her.

"Hinata." Naruto started as he turned towards her. "Would you mind coming over in about an hour so I can go talk to the Hokage about something?"

She nodded, but not before glancing over at Ino. "I can do that."

"Naruto?" A hesitant voice called out from behind the three ninjas.

All three adults turned, Hiromi turning her head, to see a ruffled Sakura standing a few feet away. Hinata and Ino exchanged dark looks before turning their angry glares onto the girl. Naruto turned away, still feeling his earlier upset over the woman he thought he had known. Hiromi, like most children, showed a positive reaction to seeing her mother. She squealed cutely, waving her small arm.

"Hi mommy!"

"Hi sweetie." Sakura replied, gulping as she saw Ino and Hinata's dark expressions and the fact Naruto had turned away from her. "Naruto… I'm sorry for what has happened and I'd really like to talk about this with you."

"There is nothing for you talk to him about." Ino snapped, her blue eyes dilating in fury, as she saved Naruto from having to answer his soon to be ex-wife. "Why don't you just turn around and go back home to your precious little Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura's face flushed a pink color as she tried talking to Naruto once more. "Please Naruto. Let's talk about this…"

Ino bristled at the fact she had been ignored. "Come on Hinata, let's go." She said, grabbing the girl's wrist once more as they turned their backs on their former friend. "Naruto, Hinata and I will see you in an hour and you also Hiromi." Ino said, gently brushing her fingers against the baby's cheeks in an affectionate way.

Naruto's head moved up and down in a nod, still not facing his wife as he shifted Hiromi in his arms.

"Naruto! Ple-"

"No." The blond said, interrupting Sakura as he turned to finally look at her. "I have nothing more to say to you or Sasuke anymore. I trusted you both and you repaid me this way. I don't think I can forgive either of you, ever."

Sakura gasped, her hands covering her mouth as she watched him with teary eyes. Everyone in their little group knew that Naruto was, by far, the most forgiving of all of them. For him to say that he wouldn't forgive Sakura nor Sasuke meant they had hurt Naruto too bad, since he was telling this to her.

Naruto turned away from her once more, starting to walk towards his home, and completely ignoring Sakura's pleas to talk this out. Hiromi's gaze flitted between Naruto and Sakura, her expression one of confusion as she watched Sakura.

"Mommy come too?" She asked, tilting her head as she stared up at Naruto.

Naruto smiled sadly at his child, shaking his head. "No sweetie. Mommy's busy."

Sakura's face fell, watching as Naruto walked away with their child.


	4. Chapter 4

The Scandal in Konoha

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Chapter Four

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Sakura watched as Naruto's back as he walked away from her, carrying their child in his arms. Soon enough both Naruto and Hiromi disappeared, engulfed in the crowd that was growing in the shopping district. Sakura lingered for a moment longer, silently hoping that Naruto would turn around and come back to her and when that didn't happen, she sighed sadly and trudged back toward the Uchiha compound.

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Sakura walked through the door of her new home and sighed forlornly. "Sasuke?" She called.

"In here!" Sakura heard the Uchiha call from the kitchen. "How did it go?" He asked when he saw her.

Sakura crumpled into a chair next to Sasuke and put her head on the kitchen table. "He wouldn't talk to me." She admitted.

"Just like I said he wouldn't."

Sakura threw him a dirty look and looked away when Sasuke set a plate full of delicious smelling pancakes covered in berries and whipped cream in front of her.

"Sakura don't be stubborn and eat."

Sakura frowned but pulled the plate toward her and started eating.

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The house was quiet when Naruto slipped through the door and closed it behind him. He padded down a darkened hallway expertly and stopped at a door that had a very colorfully painted sign that had 'HIROMI' painted neatly in big bright letters across it. Naruto pushed open the door and walked across the threshold of his only daughter's room, he crossed to the crib, which, he reminded himself, he needed to replace with a normal bed pretty soon.

He leaned down and placed Hiromi on the little mattress and covered her with the light blue blanket that was sitting in the crib. She stared up at him with watery blue eyes. "When mommy coming back?" She asked dragging a corner of the blanket up and jamming it in her mouth.

Naruto sighed. "She's not sweetie."

Confusion clouded Hiromi's eyes and she cocked her head. "Why?"

Choosing to ignore the question, Naruto ruffled her blond hair playfully and kissed her chubby cheek before pulling away and saying, "Try to sleep sweetie."

He gave her one last kiss on the cheek before backing out of the room, Naruto left the door open a crack, just in case Hiromi needed him, and walked into the living room. Naruto threw himself gently onto the beige sofa and relaxed a little bit. Perhaps a little too much because soon he found himself falling asleep.

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When Naruto woke up, it was because someone was knocking on the front door. Wondering who it was, he called groggily, "Come in! The door's open!"

The door handle turned and the door swung open, revealing Hinata and Ino. Naruto yawned widely and stood from the couch and greeted his two best female friends.

"Hiromi's still asleep." Naruto informed them. "Thank you so much for doing this for me."

Hinata smiled brightly at the blond man. "It's no problem at all." She said.

Naruto smiled back at both her and Ino before slipping out of the front door, shutting it with a small snap behind him.

Naruto did a few hand signs in quick succession and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, reappearing next to Shizune, making the woman jump and drop a bunch of papers to the floor.

"Naruto!" She whined clutching the pile of papers that didn't fall out of her arms to her chest.

Naruto flashed a grin at the woman who he thought of his adopted older sister or an Aunt. "Is the old hag in today?" He asked.

Shizune nodded, seeming to sense his urgency to see her master. Naruto walked to the door and wrenched it open, stepping inside and closed it behind him.

"And to what do I owe this visit?" Tsunade asked eyeing her 'son' critically. "Not that I don't want you in here. But I have all this paperwork to do." She gestured to the three fairly large stacks of paper and folders.

Naruto regarded the older woman seriously. "I wish to divorce Sakura."

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, "What has my apprentice done?" She asked wearily.

"She's been cheating on me with Sasuke." Naruto spat in a bitter tone.

Tsunade stared at him blankly. "She did what?"

"Sakura cheated on me." Naruto repeated.

Tsunade growled low in her throat, her killer intent slowly filling the room. "I'm going to have them thrown out of the village for this!"

Naruto sat up straight, looking alarmed. "You want to banish them? You can't!" He protested.

Tsunade looked at the blond man with piercing amber eyes. "Why can't I? They've hurt you more times than I'd like to count and you're still protecting them! I don't understand that!"

"I doubt that the council would want you to banish their last precious Uchiha." Naruto said.

"The council can go fuck themselves for all I care!" Tsunade snarled. "I'm getting sick of all of their bullshit!"

"But Madara's still around." Naruto reminded the other blond quietly. "I think he'd love the chance to get Sasuke on his side again."

Tsunade deflated instantly at the mention of the seemingly immortal Uchiha. "I had forgotten he was still around. I suppose banishing them from the village is out of the question."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I think we're getting a little off track. We're supposed to be talking about me divorcing Sakura."

Tsunade coughed and settled back into her chair. "Right. I'm assuming you want sole custody of Hiromi?"

"But of course." Naruto agreed.

The door was suddenly flung violently open and it slammed into the wall, creating large cracks in the plaster. There, standing on the threshold of the open door, was Sakura, an irritated but apologetic looking Shizune hovering at her shoulder.

"Lady Tsunade you can't give sole custody to Naruto!" Sakura protested staring pleadingly at her master. "And you can't let him divorce me!"

"Actually I think I can." Tsunade said to her extremely foolish apprentice. "But tell me why?"

"Because she's my daughter too and," Sakura glanced over at Naruto for a split second before fixing her eyes firmly on her master. "I'm pregnant." She blurted out feeling quite pleased with herself, if Tsunade thought that she was pregnant with Naruto's second child, there was no way the older woman would allow this divorce to go through and for all Naruto knew the twins were really his. Nothing could screw her plan up.

Naruto was livid. He never knew that Sakura would sink this low to use her own unborn baby for her own selfishness. "Actually," He said sending a dark look over his shoulder at Sakura. "Seeing as I haven't slept with Sakura in over a year and Sasuke has. I think it's safe to assume it's his."

Sakura paled and looked reluctantly into Tsunade's furious amber eyes. She flinched and dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Naruto you may leave. I need to speak to my apprentice."

Naruto nodded and got out of his chair and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him (Shizune had already gone back to the lobby). Tsunade stared heavily at the pink haired medic before getting up and crossing to where Sakura was standing.

"Sakura," Tsunade lifted her hand when Sakura looked up and slapped her soundly on the cheek.

"Tsunade!" Sakura yelped indignantly clutching her reddening cheek. "What the hell was that for?"

"You deserved that Sakura." Tsunade sat back on her chair not offering Sakura to sit in the chair across her desk. "I expected a lot better from you. You had a loving, doting husband that is loyal to this village and it's people, despite what they did to him in the past, and a beautiful little girl and you trade them both for Uchiha who not only abandoned the village for power but almost killing several of Konoha's ninjas as well. What's stopping him from leaving again?"

"He won't leave."

"And how do you know this?"

"He's told me he loves me several times especially after I suck his di…" Sakura's voice trailed off and she blushed crimson when she realized what she was about to say.

Tsunade shook her head. "I'm disappointed in you Sakura. You are to report to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning for work."

"But I thought I had training with you tomorrow morning. How can I go to both?" Sakura asked confused.

"I taught you enough for you to work full time at the hospital." Tsunade pulled a paper toward her and looked at it intently.

"But then when will I train with you?"

"I'm not going to train you any longer. I refuse to train someone who doesn't have her priorities straight." Tsunade turned her back on the bewildered pink haired ninja. "You may go."

Tsunade listened to Sakura's footsteps stomp across the room and out the door. She turned to find her office empty and pressed a button on the intercom on her desk.

"Shizune, where have you hidden my sake? I need a drink."


	5. Chapter 5

The Scandal in Konoha

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Chapter Five

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Sakura walked passed the ANBU that guarded the Hokage's tower, her inner thoughts in turmoil, she had been hoping that Naruto would stay around long enough so she could talk to him but that hope was dashed when she stepped into the lobby and only saw Shizune.

Sakura walked up to the short haired brunette, "Hey Shizune, did you happen to see where Naruto went off to? I really need to talk to him." She asked.

The older woman shook her head. "Sorry Sakura, I didn't see him leave."

Sakura gave Shizune a small smile. "Thanks anyway. Maybe he's gone back home."

Just as Sakura turned and walked out of the sliding glass door, the intercom buzzed to life once again and Tsunade's agitated voice rang through the room.

"Shizune! Where's my sake?"

"It's not even noon yet and she wants to get completely plastered." Shizune sighed but dutifully walked over to a plain cherry wood cabinet and started rummaging through it and pulled out a bottle that was full of an amber colored liquid a second later.

Shizune shook her head lightly in disapproval of her master and friend's drinking habits and she walked up the stairs to the Hokage's office, knocking on the door.

"Come in." Tsunade barked.

Shizune opened the door and stepped into the spacious office and put the alcohol on the desk. "Please don't drink it all." She murmured.

Tsunade rolled her eyes at her assistant. "Yes I know. You don't have to keep reminding me."

Shizune nodded and left Tsunade to her sake, silently hoping Tsunade would heed her words this time and did not drink the whole bottle like she had when the Uchiha had returned to Konoha nearly a decade ago.

"Just take it easy on the sake, okay?"

Her plea fell on deaf ears as Tsunade had already opened the bottle and was on her second cup and was clearly not listening to the other woman. Shizune sighed once again and left the office.

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Anko yawned and stretched her arms over her head, her mesh shirt riding up a little causing her toned stomach to be revealed slightly. She stopped and turned toward the two men that were in charge with greeting new arrivals with a small smirk.

Genma rolled his eyes at the snake mistress' antics. "Where have you been for the last month?" He asked lazily leaning back against the chair he was sitting on. "It was starting to get boring without you."

"Anko killed the Fire Lord's wife's cat." Iruka said from behind Anko. "She had us thrown in jail for the last three weeks."

"How the hell did you manage that?" Genma asked surprised.

"A snake ate it." Anko replied in an innocent tone. "Simple as that. Can we go give our report to the Hokage now?"

"Fine. Meet everyone at the bar later?"

Anko looked delighted while both Kakashi and Iruka gave each other uneasy glances. A drunk Anko was never really good for one's health.

"Sure! Who else is coming?"

"Last I heard Kurenai was going to come." Genma shrugged.

Anko's face lit up. "I haven't seen Kurenai in forever! Who's watching her brat if she's out drinking with us?"

"Kurenai talked Hinata into babysitting her son while she goes out with you guys." Shikamaru said opening his eyes and lazily lifting his head to look at them. "And Hinata agreed seeing as she's already babysitting Hiromi."

"And how is Haru anyway?" Iruka asked having not seen the boy for little more than a month.

Shikamaru shrugged. "He turned fourteen a week ago. He was irritated that you weren't there but he got over it when Hiromi made a quick appearance."

"Haru's got himself a little girlfriend!" Anko crowed suddenly.

Kakashi stared at Anko incredulously. "You better be joking. You do realize Hiromi's thirteen years younger than Haru."

"I realize that Kakashi." Anko replied. "Now I think we should head over to the Hokage's tower and report."

Kakashi and Iruka agreed and Anko led both men away. When all three were out of earshot Genma turned to his younger companion and asked,

"Do you think we should of told them Tsunade is currently drunk?"

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	6. Chapter 6

**The Scandal in Konoha**

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**Chapter Six**

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**Naruto scowled to himself as he walked the familiar path toward his home, he was more than a little annoyed that Sakura had interrupted his meeting with Tsunade. She obviously didn't understand that he did not want to see or talk to her any time soon considering the circumstances. He loved Sakura, but he wasn't sure if they were right for each other if she felt the need to go out and cheat on him with Sasuke. Hiromi also needed a mother figure in her life and it's not like Naruto could just call her a 'cheating whore of a wife' and expect his little angel to understand that at her young age.**

"**Why don't you just kill her if she's bothering you so much?**" Kyuubi's deep voice boomed suddenly in his head. "**It's not like anyone would miss her.**"

Naruto gave a moody sigh. "_Hiromi would miss her so shut up._" He snapped. "_And I'm guessing that Sasuke would too._" It's not that Naruto was opposed to the idea, because he personally was more in favor of it than not right now. He was sure if Sakura ended up dead in an alley way somewhere that Sasuke would blame him for it. That was another kettle of fish Naruto wasn't ready to open.

"**Would you miss her as well?**" Kyuubi asked, his voice filled with mock curiosity and enough sarcasm to kill Gamabunta.

"_Shut up Kyuubi._" Naruto snapped at the ancient demon, not particularly enjoying the tone of voice his inner had. He stopped at the gate that surrounded his house, staring up at the house. Naruto suddenly felt guilty about not returning home with Sakura, for his daughter's sake only. Turning away from the house, he headed off towards the familiar training grounds.

Kyuubi gave a snort of muffled laughter, "**That's a yes!**" The fox crowed triumphantly completely ignoring the ripple of anger coming from his jailer. The fox laughed deeply in Naruto's mind, enjoying the fact he had gotten an answer out of his ward that no one else would probably be able to get out of the hurting ninja.

Naruto clenched his teeth together and forcibly shut out the sound of Kyuubi's smug chuckles. He didn't enjoy the fox knowing him as well as the fox did. It wasn't entirely that he'd miss Sakura, he'd more miss having someone be there for him through the good times and bad. Sakura was once his loving wife, and up until recently, Sakura was just that and it's not like Naruto could just stop loving her. It didn't stop him from wishing he wasn't so nice though.

"Stupid fox." Naruto grumbled. He looked up and sighed when he saw the training ground. He felt a sense of peace being here, but it wasn't as strong as the pain he felt. He let out a soft sigh, sensing someone familiar whom was at the training grounds with him. Naruto really didn't feel like dealing this particular person at the moment.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." An unwelcome voice said from one of the trees before jumping out and landing quietly on the ground. "What are you doing all the way out here?" The figure walked closer to Naruto and stopped a few feet behind him.

"I could ask you the same question." Naruto muttered wearily, turning to face his rival in everything, including his soon-to-be ex-wife. "Why are you out here.. Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged carelessly, leaning his weight onto his right leg as he looked up into Naruto's eyes with his own. "Sakura said she'd meet me here to train for a while."

The moment that the sentence passed his lips, Sasuke knew he had made a mistake in mentioning Sakura around Naruto.

Naruto gave a small fox-like snarl before his eyes bled red, his whisker marks darkened as they always did when Kyuubi was starting to take over. His canine teeth grew into fangs, making him more feral and wild looking. Sasuke flinched, lightly, and backed away a few steps as Naruto's intent to kill washed over him like a tidal wave.

"You could have had any other girl in this village." Naruto growled, his voice deeper as the fox influenced his vocal cords. "Why the hell did you have to go for Sakura when you knew she was married? You knew I've wanted her since we were kids. You knew I loved her with all my being and yet you still went after her. Why?"

Sasuke looked uncomfortable as he stared at Naruto, looking really similar to the way he had when they fought in the Valley of the End. He had a bad feeling this encounter was going to end in a fight much like their encounter at the Valley of the End had, little did Sasuke know that he was quite right.

"We never meant for you to find out about us this way." Sasuke said.

Naruto's glare seemed to intensify as he continued to stare at the man he once thought as his best friend. "When did you plan on telling me then?"

"We were going to do it once the twins were born." Sasuke murmured. "Sakura had all the divorce paperwork ready too."

Sasuke heard Naruto's furious growl just a second before he felt a fist collide with his cheek and he flew into a tree several feet away with a giant crash. Sasuke groaned as he massaged his reddening cheek tenderly. He lifted himself from the tree he had impacted and, stared into Naruto's rage filled eyes, activating his Sharingan as he walked closer to the demon container but not close enough for Naruto to attack him again.

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Anko trudged up the stairs up the Hokage's Tower, behind her Iruka and Kakashi were following her, they had their heads together and were whispering quietly to each other. Anko turned her head and raised her eyebrows when she noticed that they're hands were clasped between them.

"How long have you been dating?" Anko suddenly asked making both men jump as far apart as the staircase would allow and stare at her with shocked expressions.

"I don't know what you are talking about Anko." Kakashi said.

"Don't give me that shit Kakashi. I remember you telling me that you had a crush on Iruka. Don't you remember that night?"

Kakashi scowled at Anko, silently willing her to be quiet about that night. He was certain that Iruka would make him sleep on the sofa for several weeks if he ever found out that Kakashi had gotten drunk with Anko and slept with her just days before they had begun dating.

She smirked at him and turned away, easily ignoring Iruka's questioning gaze. Anko nodded politely at the two ANBU that were standing on either side of the door to Tsunade's office. She flung open the door and she and her companions walked inside.

"The mission was a success." Anko announced.

Anko blinked as she heard a soft snore and she looked over at the desk. Tsunade was currently hunched over on her desk, one hand clutching a half drunk bottle of sake and the other splayed over the papers that littered the desk.

"Jiraiya…" Tsunade muttered quietly in her sleep. "You fucking pervert…"

"I think you drank a little too much Lady Tsunade." Iruka said walking over to the desk and pulled the bottle from her limp hand.

Her now empty hand twitched and the Hokage let out a barely audible moan.

"LADY TSUNADE!" Shizune yelled loudly and slammed the door open so hard that it hit the wall creating a loud bang.

Tsunade woke up instantly and flung herself away from her desk. "What now Shizune?" She demanded taking no notice of Anko, Kakashi or Iruka.

"Naruto and Sasuke are fighting at Team Seven's former training grounds." Shizune said hurriedly. "It's getting pretty bad. The ANBU are having trouble breaking them apart."

Tsunade groaned and heaved her aging body out of her chair, "Let's go stop them before one of them kills the other." Tsunade said marching out of her office.

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	7. Chapter 7

The Scandal in Konoha

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Chapter Seven

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Sasuke dodged another blow from Naruto, blood dribbling slowly down his chin. He couldn't help but wonder how Naruto had gotten so fast, the blond was keeping up with Sasuke, preventing him from using any of his better attacks. As far as he could remember, Naruto had always been the powerhouse of Team Kakashi while he, Sasuke, had been the speed. The majority of his jutsu depended on his speed to deliver them properly.

"RASENGAN!" Sasuke heard Naruto suddenly roar somewhere to his left.

"Oh fuck!" Sasuke leapt into the relative safety of the trees, jumping from tree branch to tree branch, trying to get as far away from Naruto as he could. He knew very well that attack could kill him quite easily if it hit him.

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Naruto frowned as he watched Sasuke flee up into the trees and let the light blue Rasengan fade into nothingness.

"**Transform.**" Kyuubi growled pacing around in anger. This Uchiha had beaten his retainer once before, almost killing him, the Fox would be damned if he let him do it again. "**Do it. Let this filth feel our wrath.**"

"_Our wrath? Last time I checked it was MY wife that he's been sleeping with and getting pregnant with his lovechild._" Naruto said raising his eyebrows inwardly.

"**Seeing as you're my 'kit', so to speak, the moment you mated with the harpy…**"

"_Kyuubi…_" Naruto interrupted warningly.

Kyuubi rolled his eyes but continued on, "**Anyway, as I was saying, the moment you mated with **_**her**_**. She became something like a 'kit-in-law' despite the fact that I dislike her.**"

"_You used to dislike me too. What's the difference?_" Naruto asked curiously.

"**I'm not sealed within her, am I? I'm inside your body day after day, for the last twenty-seven years, I've grown attached to you…sadly enough. The only people I give a damn about are you and Hiromi.**" Kyuubi looked revolted at himself for admitting that he actually cared for Naruto and Hiromi. "**But really, you need to transform in order to beat the Uchiha.**"

"_But won't that produce a lot of Chakra? Every ninja in Konoha will come running, thinking I've lost control of you._" Naruto said.

"**Yes but I think the risk is worth it.**" Kyuubi said.

Naruto frowned. He was not very thrilled about letting his secret be known publicly just to defeat his former friend. No one, not even Sakura or Granny Tsunade, knew that Naruto had managed to strike an agreement with Kyuubi, allowing him complete control over his transformations with a promise that Kyuubi wouldn't try to take over. Much like the control Yugito had and Killer Bee has over their respective demons. It took over six years of tough training with Kyuubi to control the Fox's Chakra.

Naruto smirked at the horrified Uchiha and his skin slowly started peeling away from his face, his nails and teeth grew and sharpened, and long orange furred ears grew from out the top of his head and orange fur sprouted from all over his body and, one by one long tails grew from Naruto's tailbone, until nine tails swayed lazily from him.

Sasuke let out a gasp as he stared at a Kyuubi that was about half the size of the real Fox. Naruto gave a fanged smile, much like the one that Kyuubi had given him the first time he had seen the beast, and cocked his head. "**You like the look, Bastard?**" Naruto asked.

Sasuke flinched as he stared into the large furry face that was looming over him. He made several hand signs and called out, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Naruto gave a roar of pain when the huge ball of fire exploded in his face. He wiped at his face with one massive paw. He glared down at the Uchiha, the fur on his face was now burnt black with angry red skin blistering underneath.

Sasuke stared at the giant form of the fox as he formed one hand sign and bit his thumb, slamming his bloodied hand down on the ground, "Summoning Jutsu!" He bellowed and a white cloud enveloped him.

_Please don't tell me he summoned Manda. _Naruto thought staring at the smoke cloud in dread. The smoke cloud cleared and Sasuke stood on top of Manda's head causing Naruto to curse colorfully in his mind.

The huge snake summon hissed menacingly, forked tongue flickering, tasting the air. "Uchiha!" He suddenly snarled furiously. "Why have you summoned me?! I demand one hundred human sacrifices as payment!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the serpent. "Manda, I will get you your sacrifices." He said coolly. "Just do as I say and kill him." He gestured to Naruto.

"Such disrespect!" Manda hissed. "I should eat you for your arrogance!"

"And will you?" Sasuke sneered. "I didn't think now do as I command you and attack him."

"**I've always wanted a snake-skin wallet.**" Naruto joked aloud eyes glued on the approaching serpent.

Manda suddenly lunged at Naruto, mouth open; long fangs glistening in saliva and venom. Naruto jumped back to avoid being bitten but didn't see the tail and had his legs swiped from under him. The ground trembled as Naruto's body hit the ground with an audible thump and his tails flailed around him, obliterating several trees in the process.

"**Kit you have to be careful!**" Kyuubi's voice barked in the back of his head.

"_Shut up, I know I'm doing_." Naruto said to the fox.

"**Fine. If you want to destroy your precious village with my body, which you don't know how to use properly, then so be it.**"

Naruto growled as Manda came at him again, lifting one clawed hind leg and thrust it at the snake. Two claws ripped into Manda's scaled flesh and ran down the sleek brown body, warm blood spurted out of the long gaping cuts, splashing onto the ground with a sickening splattering sound.

Manda hissed in fury and pain and coiled his body around the wound, trying to protect it. "Uchiha! I demand two hundred sacrifices for this humiliation!"

Sasuke didn't say anything to the angry reptile for fear of Manda becoming more infuriated than he already was and turning on him. He had no desire to be eaten by a creature that had once been a summon for Orochimaru.

Naruto had gotten to his feet, all nine tails whipping around him, lips pulled up in a snarl and he growled lowly. He glared at Manda and Sasuke and was about to lash out at them when loud gasps echoed all around the clearing making him look at the ground. Almost all of the ninja population in the Village were staring open mouthed at the spectacle going on in front of them. Naruto twitched one ear when he heard someone shout, "Kyuubi!"

Naruto shook his head. "**No, Naruto**." He said. "**But can we do this later. I'm kinda busy.**"

Manda took his momentary distraction to lunge again, and this time his aim was true and he bit into Naruto's thigh. Naruto grunted in pain and twisted himself around, intent upon ripping Manda's head from his body. The snake seemed to recognize the potential danger he was in and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sasuke cursed when Manda disappeared suddenly and Naruto's attention was on him once again. He had no warning as one paw came out of nowhere and swung into him with some force. He flew into a tree and didn't get back up for several moments, only getting up when he noticed Naruto coming toward him again, a predatory gleam in his eyes. He moaned softly as his ribs protested movement.

He gathered his chakra into his hand, a soft chirping filled the air as he formed Chidori. Ignoring the searing pain in his ribs, Sasuke launched himself at Naruto. "CHIDORI!" He cried out and thrust his arm out. Naruto rolled his eyes at the feeble attempt to defeat him. Sasuke would need to do a lot more than a Chidori to even have a chance at even touching him while in this form.

Naruto raised a paw and batted Sasuke away, sending him into a tree again. Sasuke spat out a mouthful of blood and didn't get up again.

"SASUKE!" A shrieking cry rose from Sakura as she broke through the ranks of ninja gathered there and ran shakily to the still form of her lover, dropping to her knees, a frantic look in her eyes. "SASUKE! WAKE UP!"

Naruto, now back to his normal appearance, watched the scene going on in front of him with saddened eyes. He blinked as Tsunade appeared next to him, a disgusted look on her face as she too watched Sakura crying over Sasuke.

"The Elders are livid over this, you know." Tsunade said quietly. "I have a feeling they'll try and banish you for attacking the last Uchiha and for transforming into Kyuubi."

Naruto groaned softly. The Elders despised him with every fiber of their beings and would love nothing more than to banish him.

"Can they do that?"

"They'll certainly try but I think I have a plan. Meet me in an hour in my office and bring Hiromi, Ino, and Hinata."

Naruto looked confused but nodded. He then turned and walked toward his home, ignoring the wailing cries coming from Sakura. He wondered just what Tsunade had planned and why she wanted Ino and Hinata to come too.

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Twenty minutes later had him sitting on his sofa with Hiromi dozing on his stomach, he was gently running his fingers through her untidy blond hair. Hinata and Ino sat on a loveseat, blank expressions on their faces.

"Tsunade wants us there why?" Ino asked looking a little confused.

Naruto shrugged. "I already told you that I don't know. We'll find out in a little less than forty minutes."

The peaceful silence was shattered as a door was slammed shut and there was rapid footsteps that were heading toward the living room. Sakura appeared, bloodstains on her blouse, her pink hair a mess, and she looked furious.

She marched over to Naruto, not seeming to realize their daughter was lying asleep on his chest, and slapped him with an chakra infused hand. "How dare you! You almost killed him!" She shrieked.

Naruto jerked at the unexpected slap, Hiromi let out a cry from the sudden movement, looking tearfully around at being forcefully awoken. "Daddy!" She whimpered catching sight of the blond man.

Sakura saw a sudden movement beside her and looked around, eyes coming to rest wearily on Hinata's angry and reproachful expression. "I can't believe you just did that." She whispered watching as Ino scooped Hiromi into her arms, whispering soothing words as she backed into a corner with the scared child.

The living room was silent as Hiromi's cries slowly tapered off into hiccups, Naruto gazed up at Sakura. "Why are you here?" He asked coolly.

"I live here." Sakura said staring down at Naruto.

Naruto shook his head. "No you don't Sakura. My parents left me this house and I would thank you to stop stalking me."

"I'm not stalking you." Sakura sputtered.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? So who keeps trying to make me talk to her since I caught her with my supposed best friend? I think that would be you. Now I would be extremely happy if you left me and my daughter alone."

Sakura felt anger bubble in her stomach. "She's my daughter too! You can't keep me from seeing her!" She spat.

"Naruto, we have to go see Tsunade now." Ino said getting off the chair she was sitting in and hoisting Hiromi further up her hip.

Naruto nodded and he and Hinata joined her at the living room door, he turned back to Sakura, his expression cold. "I do not want to see you in here when we get back, understand?"

"Yes." Sakura murmured quietly.

"Good." Naruto said and he, Hinata and Ino left, none of them looking back at Sakura, who was finally starting to realize the damage she had done to Naruto.

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	8. Chapter 8

The Scandal in Konoha

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Chapter Eight

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It was silent and tense in the Hokage tower, Naruto, Hinata and Ino were seated in front of Tsunade, who was sitting stiffly in her chair, biting her lip nervously. Her unusual behavior was beginning to put everyone on edge.

Finally unable to stand the silence anymore, Hinata spoke quietly, "Lady Tsunade why have you asked us here?"

Tsunade seemed to pull herself together and stared at the three in front of her seriously. "The council is demanding that you be punished for injuring the Uchiha" She said.

"Punished?" Naruto frowned.

Tsunade fiddled with the papers on her desk, eyes downcast, she didn't want to see the reactions to what she was about to say. She gave a deep sigh, bracing herself. "They want me to banish you."

"No way!" They exclaimed loudly. "Can they even do that?"

"Koharu and Homura will certainly try to force me to." Tsunade said.

"And would you do it?" Naruto asked uncertainty shining in his eyes.

Tsunade gave him a stern look. "No! I wouldn't ever do that to you. You aren't safe in this village at the present time, with the Uchiha in critical condition, however."

Dread crept into him as he stared at the woman he had come to love as a mother. "What are you telling me Tsunade?"

On either side of Naruto, Ino and Hinata saw Tsunade flinch when he called her by her name. They both knew Naruto always affectionately called the older blond 'Granny Tsunade' and for him to not do so now meant he was being serious.

"I think it would be best for you if I reassigned you to an allied village for a while." Tsunade looked tearfully at the young man. "Just until Uchiha heals and things calm down. Think of it as a paid vacation."

"How long would I be gone?" Naruto hung his head. Just when he thought the village had finally accepted him, something happened to pull that from under him.

"Six months to a year. And you won't be going alone, Hinata and Ino have agreed to go with you."

Naruto lifted his head to stare, surprised, at the two sitting on either side of him. "You didn't have to. I would've been fine going alone."

Hinata smiled gently at him. "No we don't have to go with you but we want to Naruto. We want you to be happy and I think some time in Suna will make that happen."

"I've already talked to Gaara and he's agreed to letting you stay in his family compound. Pack up, you leave tomorrow morning."

"Wait what about Hiromi? I can't leave her here." '_With Sakura…alone._' He added in his head.

Ino rolled her eyes at him. "We're taking her with us of course. At least there, she'll have someone to play with whose her age."

Naruto nodded. A little over a year ago, Gaara had, at the insisting of his sister Temari, adopted a little boy who was only a year older than Hiromi. He was also a mute. Temari figured it would make him more popular as Kazekage if the villagers saw him adopting a special needs child.

She was right of course. Since the adoption, Gaara's popularity with the villagers had skyrocketed, especially among the single young women.

Naruto stood as did Ino and Hinata, saying their goodbyes to Tsunade and Shizune, who returned Hiromi to Naruto's arms. The little girl was only to happy to be back in Naruto's arms, she wrapped her pudgy little arms around his neck and giggled happily when he poked her playfully in the side.

The young adults made there way down the stairs, nodding politely to the ANBU guarding the entrance of the building. The three went their separate ways, each of them needing to pack.

* * *

Naruto sighed softly, shutting the door behind him and set Hiromi down as she started to wriggle. As soon as her slippered feet touched the carpeted floor she toddled toward her small pile of toys. She plopped onto her behind and pulled a stuffed fox to her and stuffed the toy into her mouth.

Naruto pulled out several scrolls from the desk drawer in the corner of the room and proceeded into his and Hiromi's rooms, bringing out piles of clothes and other necessities they would need. Diapers (Naruto couldn't wait until he had Hiromi potty trained), wipes, baby powder, lotions and many other things were sealed into one scroll while all their clothes went into another. Hiromi's toys were sealed into a third (Naruto left the ones she played with the most alone). Within the hour everything they would need was sealed into scrolls and they were put into a bag.

"Daddy?" Hiromi asked pulling the fox plushy out of her mouth. "I'm hungry."

Naruto leaned down and swung Hiromi onto his hip and walked into the large kitchen, setting her in the highchair before turning around and pulled the fridge doors open and pulled out the cup of freshly cut strawberries he knew was just for Hiromi. The little girl loved the sweet tasting fruit.

Naruto dumped the strawberries onto the highchair table and watched as Hiromi seized a fistful of the fruit and stuffed them into her open mouth, chewing nosily. The red juice of the strawberries dribbled down Hiromi's chin, dripping down onto her white t-shirt, staining the material pink.

Naruto stared at his young daughter. "Sweetie?" He said.

Hiromi looked up when she heard her daddy's voice, strawberry juice still dripping down her chin.

He was silent for a moment before speaking up, "Baby we're going on a little vacation tomorrow. To Suna."

"Is mommy coming too?"

Naruto's heart clenched at Hiromi's hopeful look and silently cursed Sakura and Sasuke for causing this. He shook his head gently. "Mommy is too busy working at the hospital to come. But Auntie Ino and Auntie Hinata are going to be coming. You like them remember?"

"But I want mommy to come too!" Hiromi protested loudly.

"She can't come Baby." Naruto said softly to the toddler.

"I want mommy to come with us!" She screamed furiously.

She grabbed a fistful of mashed up strawberries and lobbed them at Naruto, hitting him in the face.

"Hiromi you do not throw food when your upset." Naruto chided her wiping away the sticky mess on his face with his hand. He leaned forward and detached the table from the highchair and lifted her easily into his arms.

"I want mommy tah come with us!" Hiromi wailed fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I know you do Baby. So do I." He lied grimacing lightly, trying to reason with her. "But she simply cannot come with us. We'll have fun with Ino and Hinata, I promise."

"Buh…Buh…I want mommy!" She continued to wail, her little tantrum showing no signs of letting up anytime soon.

Naruto rubbed his head with his free hand, sighing. "You need a nap." He said carrying the struggling girl down the hall.

"NO!"

"Hiromi! Don't say no to me!"

* * *

A half an hour later an extremely tired Naruto collapsed onto the sofa, closing his eyes. He could still hear Hiromi's cries, muffled from the door, and knew she would be at it for several hours at most. If he had been paying any attention at all, he would have heard the front door squeak open and closed or heard the footsteps coming toward him, pausing only to take in Hiromi's wails.

Ino grinned innocently as she stood in front of the oblivious Naruto. It wasn't very often when she or their other friends could get the jump on Naruto but they took it when the opportunity came by and it didn't come very often because Kyuubi warned him most of the time. She opened her mouth, her eyes shining in innocent mischief.

"**Kit. The mind-walker girl is trying to surprise you.**" The giant fox growled softly.

Naruto's eyes snapped open and focused upon Ino. "Hi Ino!" He said cheerfully.

Ino squeaked in surprise and jumped. "H…Hi Naruto." She said.

"What are you doing here? We're not leaving until tomorrow morning."

"I know that but I'm finished packing and was bored with staying home alone. So I decided to come see you and Hiromi." Ino said. "She doesn't sound very happy though. What did she do?"

Naruto spent the next couple of minutes explaining what had happened barely thirty minutes ago. At the end of his explanation Ino winced in sympathy.

* * *

Sakura shifted restlessly in the uncomfortable hospital chair and glanced up at her lover's bruised and battered face, trying to stifle a sob. She brushed away the stray tears on her cheeks and grasped his hand, squeezing gently. She wanted to hate Naruto for hurting Sasuke the way he did but she couldn't find it in herself to do so. Sakura still held some love for the blonde and she would always love the child they had together. She hoped he would forgive her someday.

"S…Sakura?" Sasuke moaned unexpectedly from the bed, a grimace of pain etched on his pale face.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelped. "How are you feeling baby?"

"I feel like I've been mauled by a wild animal. And keep your voice down, my head is killing me!" He glared sideways at her briefly before closing his eyes again.

"I'm sorry!" She whispered franticly. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine. Maybe you should go home Sakura and get some sleep. You're looking a little tired."

Sakura's eyes flashed in indignation. "It's your fault that I stayed up nearly the entire night!" She said.

"You didn't exactly tell me to stop though." He smirked smugly. "If I recall right I had you screaming 'Don't stop' the entire night."

Sakura flushed crimson. "Oh shut up."

"I only speak the truth."

Sakura smacked him gently in the arm. "Shut up." She said again.

"Make me."

Sakura leaned down and captured his lips with her own, opening her mouth slightly and allowing his tongue to enter and explore. Sakura felt a light tugging on the bottom of her shirt.

"We can't do it here, Sasuke." Sakura said softly as Sasuke sat up and started nibbling and kissing her neck. "You're supposed to be resting."

"Oh come on." He muttered against her neck. "Please? I'll rest later. I promise."

Sakura bit her lip. "I could lose my job here if we got caught." She whispered. "And you really do need to be resting, you're lucky Naruto didn't kill you earlier."

"I could've beaten him. I did it before."

Sakura raise her eyebrows. "You didn't touch him, even with the aid of Manda." She said. "How can you beat someone you can't even lay a hand on?"

Sasuke laid back against his pillows, trying to hide a wince when his broken ribs protested the slight movement. Sakura caught the expression on his face and frowned.

"Does anything hurt?" She asked leaning over him slightly.

Sasuke shook his head.

"Is it your ribs?" His pink haired lover asked. "I couldn't do very much for them and the more experienced doctors and nurses refused point blank to help you so I had to do everything myself."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Why won't anyone else help you?"

"Well they helped carry you here but that was about it. As to why, I don't really know."

Sasuke frowned for a moment before paling.

"Sasuke what's wrong? Is it your ribs?" Sakura asked looking alarmed.

"I had a sudden thought. What's going to happen when Naruto's friends find out about this?" He asked.

Sakura buried her head into Sasuke's shoulder, allowing him to wrap his arms around her slim body. She didn't want to think about what any of their reactions were going to be when they found out. She shuddered and gave a little moan at the thought of what Gaara would do to them when and if he ever found out. The red haired Kazekage was fiercely protective of Naruto and thought of him as a brother.

"We're both dead." Sakura whimpered her voice was muffled since her face was still buried in Sasuke's shoulder.


End file.
